With President Obama's Dec. 20 announcement that he will nominate Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus to be U.S. ambassador to China, industry officials say they don't expect to see action any time soon on one of the Montana Democrat's main priorities: an overhaul of the federal tax code.

If Baucus, as predicted, is confirmed to the China post, his successor as chairman of the powerful Finance panel is widely expected to be Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a strong advocate for renewable energy.